John krehbiel



(No Model.)

J. KREHBIEL. CAPSULE MACHINE.

No. 344,783. Patented June 29, 1886.

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CAPSULE-MACHINE.

.EvPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 344,783, dated June29, 1886.

Application filed September 10, 1885. Serial No. 176,708.

To aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JOHN KREHBIEL, of Detroit, in the county of Wayneand State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements inManufacturing Gelatine Gapsules; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in devicesemployed in the manufacture of gelatine capsules; and the inventionconsists in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and adaptation ofparts, as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

Heretofore great di'fificulty was often experienced in preventing thesemi-fluid gelatine, with which the'molds were coated after beingdipped, from running and forming, when dry,

capsules of uneven thickness or irregular form. V

This tendency was only very imperfectly counteracted by the practice ofthe operator agitating the mold-plate, after dipping, with his hands fora few seconds, and then depositing it on its back. This practice notonly requires a considerable amount of manuallabor, but it I does notovercome the difficulty above described, and capsules thus manufacturedare always liable to be more or less thickened at the open end from thetendency of the gelatine, while yet fresh, to gather or run toward thefoot of the mold-pin when the moldplate is laid upon its back.

In my Patent No. 296,844., granted to me April 15, 1884;, I have shown,described, and claimed a device by which the molds were evenly coated;but the process of manipulating the mold-plate there shown was solaborious, consumed so much time, and required so (No model.)

guide-bars G 0 its gravity will make it run down the incline. Fig. 3represents a truck by which the mold-plate may be carried along therunway.

In practice the upper end of this runway is placed in proximity to theoperator at the dipping-machine. From there the runway extends asuit-able distance to give the gelatine the necessary time to set whilethe moldplate is running down the incline, terminating at a point whichis convenient to the capsulecutting machine.

It is obvious that the above arrangement merely illustrates the spiritof my invention, which for practical application depends to a largedegree upon the location, arrangement, size, and kind of plant in use.For instance, one runway may be arranged to serve more than onedipping-machi11e, and by providing it with switches, running it zigzag,or adopting other devices known and used in connection with tracks andrunways of similar nature, it will not be difilcult to apply myinvention successfully in every given instance.

It will be seen that when a mold-plate, after leaving thedippingmachine, is rolled down the runway its rotary motion will keepthe gelatine evenly distributed all around the pins till the gelatinehas set sufficiently. The pro gressive motion of the mold'plate inrolling allows a current of air to rush between the pins, and therebymakes the gelatine set quicker.

Where my device of a runway is adopted, it is best to combine it with asimilar returnrunway, by means of which the mold-plates after use may beagain rolled back to the dipping-machine in the same manner, and thussave the labor and time of carrying them. Aside from the primary object,(which may be obtained in a different manner, as hereinafter described,)the use of the runways may still be of great advantage in saving manuallabor in the handling of the mold-plate.

My device of a runway is equally applicacable to other than round molds.For example, a rectangular mold-plate, in which case 1' construct alittle truck, D, or carriage, such as is shown in Fig. 3 in perspective.This truck is adapted to travel in the runway, and bears a central pin,E, upon which the moldplate is suspended by means of a central hole,with which the mold-plate has been provided. In this case the operatorhangs his mold-plate after dipping on the pin of the truck, and beforestarting the latter gives the mold-plate a rotary motion around this pinby a tap with his hand. Instead of the truck D, a round disk adapted toroll in the runway may be used, to which the rectangular mold-plate issecured.

What I claim as my invention is 1. An inclined runway combined with acircular mold-plate, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. An inclined runway provided with guides, combined with a circularmold-plate, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with an inclined runway, of a carriage designed totravel thereon and a mold-plate carried by said carriage, as set forth.

4:. The combination, with an inclined runway, of a carriage adapted totravel thereon and provided with rollers, and a mold-plate carried bysaid carriage, substantially as and for the purpose'specified.

5. The combination, with an inclined runway having guides, of a carriageprovided with a pin, E, and a mold-plate having central opening,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN KREHBIEL.

Witnesses:

H. S. SPRAGUE, EDMOND I. SOULLY.

